safe direction

czc3513 · March 3, 2006, 02:24 AM

What is the "safe direction" ?
(Other than downrange.)

USNavy_233 · March 3, 2006, 03:53 AM

More often then not I'd say down. Down will be safest MOST of the time but it will also depend on your environment. Bear in mind that some surfaces will cause a ricochet if a discharge was to occur, although firing into the air will ALWAYS lead to a bad situation as the round is going to have to land somewhere and when it does the bullet will be just as capable of killing someone as when it was originally fired.

mxwelch · March 3, 2006, 03:59 AM

Quote:

More often then not I'd say down. Down will be safest MOST of the time but it will also depend on your environment. Bear in mind that some surfaces will cause a ricochet if a discharge was to occur, although firing into the air will ALWAYS lead to a bad situation as the round is going to have to land somewhere and when it does the bullet will be just as capable of killing someone as when it was originally fired.

+1...

stephen426 · March 3, 2006, 05:45 AM

I voted down too despite the chance of ricochet. I guess you could say that carrying the pistol upwards would be safer for yourself (as long as it is not pointed at you head

) but it would be dangerous for someone else. I imagine trying to catch the bullet you fired up into the air would be pretty darn difficult, even if you intended to do so. Chances are unless you fired it exactly at the proper angle to compensate for wind, there is almost no way you would get hit.

By the way, a falling bullet does not have the same ability to kill someone as a bullet fired from a gun. Terminal velocity from gravity is dictated by wind resistance, which is slower than most pistol rounds. Don't get me wrong, falling rounds can still kill people. Just keep your finger off the stinking trigger and you will have much lower chances of accidental discharges, both upwards and downwards!

cscoios · March 3, 2006, 06:59 AM

+1 for down.

We were taught this is our CCW class. The instuctor teaches firearms training to state and federal LEOs. The ground can absorb the bullet much better than the air, what goes up must come down.

Watch the nightly news. Marines with their rifles, or SWAT breaking down a door always have the muzzle pointed at the ground until the target is engaged.

HangFire83 · March 3, 2006, 07:03 AM

Tricky situation with me. I live in the upper apartment in the unit so if I am home the safe direction is up or towards the exterior wall of the building. In the woods or at the range the safe direction is down or down range.

Double Naught Spy · March 3, 2006, 08:44 AM

Quote:

What is the "safe direction" ?
(Other than downrange.)

From the muzzle out of the barrel, everything is down range.

Doug.38PR · March 3, 2006, 10:35 AM

I was generally taught down by both basic "dad" training and gunrange rules so that's generally what I practice. like Erick said, it is situationally dependent.
In fact a friend of mine and I were talking about this very subject the other day with some kind of tactical trainer at the indoor gun range we now frequently attended.
The gentleman recalled an incident in North or South Carolinia where a policeman was cleaning his gun in his upstairs apartment and the gun went off. The shot went through the floor and hit a woman in the head. She was dead.
He said the first thing that came out of the policeman's mouth instinctively was "I had my weapon pointed down."
So it's really kinda relative. What is safe?
If your're downstairs, pointing down is better, if you are up stairs up is better (but what if someone is above you on the third floor.)
Or if I am on concrete or some other hard surface...up is better.

exar · March 3, 2006, 11:00 AM

I carry a pistol facing down, shotguns and rifles I carry vertical and parallel to my body with the muzzle pointed up(I only shoot outside).

rha600 · March 3, 2006, 11:02 AM

out huhnting it's always been down. the range says up. however down at the range would be into a concrete slab so up makes more sense. like so many others have said it depends. since most of the time down would be into concrete where it could riccochet and hit someone I said up. the chances of it dropping and hitting someone would be a lot smaller. unless you're in manhatten.

pax · March 3, 2006, 11:08 AM

A safe direction is a direction in which, if the gun fires, no humans would be endangered and, at worst, only minor property damage would result.

It isn't "up" or "down" or "toward the berm." Any of those may be a safe direction, sometimes. Any of those will be a very unsafe direction at other times.

As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns.

pax

Blackwater OPS · March 3, 2006, 05:36 PM

Quote:

It is so situationally dependent that it isn't even funny.

Agreed. Still I prefer up, while it may not be safest under all circumstances I find it to be more expedient.

USNavy_233 · March 4, 2006, 04:16 PM

" safe direction is a direction in which, if the gun fires, no humans would be endangered and, at worst, only minor property damage would result.

It isn't "up" or "down" or "toward the berm." Any of those may be a safe direction, sometimes. Any of those will be a very unsafe direction at other times.

As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns.

pax"

Well said.

gac009 · March 4, 2006, 05:35 PM

"As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns."

+100

springmom · March 4, 2006, 05:58 PM

...on where you are. We have a one-storey house, which means our floors are carpet over concrete slab. So if I am carrying my firearm through the house, it is pointed UP.

However, if I were outside, safe would be DOWN, because everybody knows (I hope) that up is extremely dangerous in that situation.

So I didn't vote, because there is not one answer.

Springmom

View Poll Results: What is the "safe direction" ?
UP	7	14.58%
DOWN	41	85.42%
Voters: 48. You may not vote on this poll

March 3, 2006, 02:24 AM	#1
czc3513 Senior Member Join Date: September 4, 2005 Location: Oregon. Posts: 709	safe direction What is the "safe direction" ? (Other than downrange.) __________________ "HEDP: High Explosive Donkey Punch"

March 3, 2006, 03:53 AM	#2
USNavy_233 Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2004 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 115	More often then not I'd say down. Down will be safest MOST of the time but it will also depend on your environment. Bear in mind that some surfaces will cause a ricochet if a discharge was to occur, although firing into the air will ALWAYS lead to a bad situation as the round is going to have to land somewhere and when it does the bullet will be just as capable of killing someone as when it was originally fired. __________________ He is greatest, who is trained in the severest school. -General Thucydides, 424 BC

March 3, 2006, 05:45 AM	#4
stephen426 Senior Member Join Date: March 11, 2005 Posts: 3,840	I voted down too despite the chance of ricochet. I guess you could say that carrying the pistol upwards would be safer for yourself (as long as it is not pointed at you head ) but it would be dangerous for someone else. I imagine trying to catch the bullet you fired up into the air would be pretty darn difficult, even if you intended to do so. Chances are unless you fired it exactly at the proper angle to compensate for wind, there is almost no way you would get hit. By the way, a falling bullet does not have the same ability to kill someone as a bullet fired from a gun. Terminal velocity from gravity is dictated by wind resistance, which is slower than most pistol rounds. Don't get me wrong, falling rounds can still kill people. Just keep your finger off the stinking trigger and you will have much lower chances of accidental discharges, both upwards and downwards! __________________ The ATF should be a convenience store instead of a government agency!

March 3, 2006, 07:03 AM	#6
HangFire83 Senior Member Join Date: February 9, 2006 Location: Howell, MI Posts: 323	Tricky situation with me. I live in the upper apartment in the unit so if I am home the safe direction is up or towards the exterior wall of the building. In the woods or at the range the safe direction is down or down range. __________________ " An unarmed man can only flee from evil, and evil is not overcome by fleeing from it." Jeff Cooper.

March 3, 2006, 06:59 AM	#5
cscoios Member Join Date: November 19, 2005 Posts: 84	+1 for down. We were taught this is our CCW class. The instuctor teaches firearms training to state and federal LEOs. The ground can absorb the bullet much better than the air, what goes up must come down. Watch the nightly news. Marines with their rifles, or SWAT breaking down a door always have the muzzle pointed at the ground until the target is engaged.

March 3, 2006, 10:35 AM	#8
Doug.38PR Junior member Join Date: January 18, 2005 Posts: 3,298	I was generally taught down by both basic "dad" training and gunrange rules so that's generally what I practice. like Erick said, it is situationally dependent. In fact a friend of mine and I were talking about this very subject the other day with some kind of tactical trainer at the indoor gun range we now frequently attended. The gentleman recalled an incident in North or South Carolinia where a policeman was cleaning his gun in his upstairs apartment and the gun went off. The shot went through the floor and hit a woman in the head. She was dead. He said the first thing that came out of the policeman's mouth instinctively was "I had my weapon pointed down." So it's really kinda relative. What is safe? If your're downstairs, pointing down is better, if you are up stairs up is better (but what if someone is above you on the third floor.) Or if I am on concrete or some other hard surface...up is better.

March 3, 2006, 11:00 AM	#9
exar Senior Member Join Date: January 27, 2006 Location: Indiana Posts: 224	I carry a pistol facing down, shotguns and rifles I carry vertical and parallel to my body with the muzzle pointed up(I only shoot outside).

March 3, 2006, 11:02 AM	#10
rha600 Senior Member Join Date: January 4, 2006 Posts: 338	out huhnting it's always been down. the range says up. however down at the range would be into a concrete slab so up makes more sense. like so many others have said it depends. since most of the time down would be into concrete where it could riccochet and hit someone I said up. the chances of it dropping and hitting someone would be a lot smaller. unless you're in manhatten.

March 3, 2006, 11:08 AM	#11
pax Senior Member Join Date: May 16, 2000 Location: In a state of flux Posts: 7,520	A safe direction is a direction in which, if the gun fires, no humans would be endangered and, at worst, only minor property damage would result. It isn't "up" or "down" or "toward the berm." Any of those may be a safe direction, sometimes. Any of those will be a very unsafe direction at other times. As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns. pax __________________ Kathy Jackson My personal website: Cornered Cat

March 4, 2006, 04:16 PM	#13
USNavy_233 Senior Member Join Date: November 10, 2004 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 115	" safe direction is a direction in which, if the gun fires, no humans would be endangered and, at worst, only minor property damage would result. It isn't "up" or "down" or "toward the berm." Any of those may be a safe direction, sometimes. Any of those will be a very unsafe direction at other times. As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns. pax" Well said. __________________ He is greatest, who is trained in the severest school. -General Thucydides, 424 BC

March 4, 2006, 05:35 PM	#14
gac009 Senior Member Join Date: January 19, 2006 Posts: 430	"As much as we all might prefer otherwise, there is no substitute for actual thought when handling guns." +100

March 4, 2006, 05:58 PM	#15
springmom Senior Member Join Date: October 26, 2005 Location: Houston area Posts: 1,823	that depends.... ...on where you are. We have a one-storey house, which means our floors are carpet over concrete slab. So if I am carrying my firearm through the house, it is pointed UP. However, if I were outside, safe would be DOWN, because everybody knows (I hope) that up is extremely dangerous in that situation. So I didn't vote, because there is not one answer. Springmom __________________ I will not be a victim home on the web: www.panagia-icons.net (my webpage) www.nousfromspring.blogspot.com (Orthodoxy) "I couldn't hear you. Stop firing the gun while you're talking!" Frank Drebin, The Naked Gun